Toothbrush



Oct 21, 19.41. D. AIKEN 2,259,981

TOOTHBRUSH A Filed Sept. 23, 1939 Patented Oct. 21, 1941 TOOTHBRUSH David Aiken, Winnsboro, S. C., assignor of one-' third to J. W. Douglass, Jr., Greenville, S. C.

Application September 23,1939, Serial'No. 296,205

1 Claim. 15-438) This invention relates to .tooth brushes with hollow handle for containing a quantity of liquid dentifrice, including means for feeding the dentifrice out onto the brush as required.

The principal object of the invention is to provide in combination a brush'head having a shank, the latter having a bore extended longitudinally thereinto with a delivery port opening out laterally immediately back of the brush head.

' as in the process of feeding liquid dentifricefrom the handle down into the brush head.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail of the brush shank and connected stopper or plug for the tubular handle. e

Figure 5 is an end view of the brush shank.

Figure 6 is an end view of the handle with stopper mounted therein.

a tubular handle open at one end and equipped 10 In practicing this invention I provide an elonthereat with a removable plug or stopper pierced gated hollow or tubular handle 5, closed at one eccentrically by a small air inlet port and having end 6 and open at the opposite end 1. This a centrally extended feed tube dimensioned to handle may be of any desired material, stiff and pass into the bore of the shank, whereby with the ri d, r sili nt or flexi paq r transparenthandle filled with a liquid dentifrice and held A p us or stopper 8 is provided for the open elevated relative to the brush head, the natural end of the tubular handle and this stopper has siphonic action of the assembly will be to feed a sho t f d tu or st m 9 p r d centrally the dentifrice down through the central feed thereth ugh a d t nd d utward y. he base tube out onto the brush head, air meanwhile Of s tube 9 at s juncture W e pp 1 flowing t t handle through t air m t port threaded as shown at H]. A small air inlet duct to replace the discharged liquid. II is pierced eccentrically through the stopper Another object of the invention is to provide 3 at one Side of t feed tube a self feeding tooth brush assembly for a liquid A brush head ls provided, e an l3 dentifrice, the same including a tubular handle thereof being flared outwardly o reg ster With open t one end, removable plug or topper 2 the diameter of the stopper 8, and being pierced for the open end of the tubular handle, the same by a longitudinally n ed bore l4 having a having an air duct therein, a feed tube prolateral openin or dis ha e po t t leading from j ted centrally through the stopper and t its inner end outwardly through the shank to a ed outwardly, and a brush head mounted on the point immediately adjacent t e b ist es of the extended end of t feed tube of the Stopper the 3 brush head. The bore 14 is dimensioned to nicebrush head having a shank with a bore or feed 1y, snugly and rotatably receive and ga e the duct extended longitudinally thereinto, with a feed tube Stem 9, the mouth Of h s bore bedelivery or discharge port opening out laterally mg Phl'eaded lntellolly to engage he t readed back of the brush head, the said bore or feed Portlon of the tube 9, whereby the stopper 8 duct being dimensioned to nicely and snugly yet @Q shank may be closely yet detachably rotatably receive the feed tube of the stopper. lomedthe joint between the stopper and the brush head contactlns faces of shank nd stopper are Shank being closely fitted so as to Seal the air nicely turned and smoothly fitted to form aclosed t of t Stopper when t stopper and shank Joint when the elements are turned together, so are drawn together, or to admit air through the 40 that if desired air may be excluded from enterair duct into the handle, when the stopper and mg the tllbulal' handle through the air duct II Shank are Slightly separatem v by the simple expedient of turning the parts With the foregoing objects and advantages in closely together: y be admitted to the view, with such other advantages as may appear handle P merely untummg loosfning these from the specification, attention is directed to parts l The pllrpose of thls arrangethe accompanying drawing as illustrating a prefi g g gggg gis giigi y of such gt flerred embodiment of the invention and where- 2 11 when the parts g t'umed closely together Figure 1 is a frontal elevation of the brush e end of the tube 9 w1thin the bore l4 will cover assembly, showing tubular handle screwed down closely upon the shank of the brush head.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the tubular handle slightly unturned from the shank for admitting air through the air duct of the stopper,

the lateral discharge port l5, though this provision is not essential to the use and operation of the device.

In use, the tubular handle 5 is filled with the desired liquid dentifrice, that is to say a denti- 5 frice as fluent or almost as fluent as Water, the

out onto the brush head l2, air simultaneously entering the hollow handle through its loosened joint with the shank and through the air duct II. This action and directionof-flowiscaused by the well known principlezotthe siphon -as practised in the assembly here provided, due to the greater weight of the longer column of liquid in the tube 8.

After the desired quantity. of dentifrice is fed out onto the brush'head, the handle 5 is screwed down closelyonto' the end of the'shank l3, thus sealing the air duct II, and stopping further flow of the dentifrice.

Asa modification, the tube 9 maybesh'ortened so as to leave the port i5 open at all tim'esj Then the dentifrice'could be emitted onto. the brush head through the tube 9 in manner alre'ady described, or by leaving handle and shankscrewed closely-together'and jerking the handlesharply upward.-

It is thought the construction, use and operation of the device will be fully understood from the foregoing description, and while I have here shown and described certain preferred features of the invention, the same may be changed or modified within the scope of the claim.

I claim:

In a device of the kind described embodying a brush head having a shank: bored out axially through the rear end and internally threaded and embodying a hollow handle open at one end, a stopper for the handle opening, a feed tube seated axially through the stopper the outer end thereof being extended and threaded to threadedly seat and -'rotate""within the complementally threaded bore of the shank, the stopper having an. air duct extending endwise therethrough, lat-- erally of the feed'tube for leading air directly and continuously into the handle, the opposed faces of stopper and shank-end being formed to meet squarely for closing theair'duct', as'the"parts are screwed'together; whereby with the parts retracted for opening the air duct and thehan dle being turned -upward,"a liquid in the handle will feed by gravity down and out-through the feed tube as air entersdirectly andbontinuously into the handle through theairdub't.

' D'AviD AIKEN, 

